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4 Easy Ways to Save Your Hard Earned Money

If you’re anything like my husband and I, sometimes (or all the time) you’re a little stressed about saving more money. I mean, we work hard, want to eventually buy a house, and don’t even get me started about retirement. With all of that in mind, the thought of saving enough can be daunting.

You’ll be surprised how little tweaks in your life can save you big money!

Despite always being told that in order to save you have to sit at home and do nothing, that’s totally not true. I have figured out a few simple ways to save money and continue to enjoy life! Here are four easy ways to pad your bank account without giving up all your favorite things!

Cook more. You’ve probably heard this before, but cooking more at home actually saves you a ton of money. You may not realize how quickly that daily latte or quick stop at McDonalds adds up. In case you don’t believe me, one month my husband and I, for no particular reason, didn’t eat out every week (like we usually do) and decided to cook instead. I think we might have gone out twice that whole month. You know how much we saved by the end of the month? $200! Yes, we saved $200 just by cooking at home. I’m not saying you can’t ever go out to eat, but limit it as much as you can. Not to mention, cooking at home is much better for your waistline too!

Go out less. Those weekend nights out with your friends are great if you ignore the hole they’re putting in your pocket. The cost of dinner, alcohol, cabs, and club entrance fees can send you over your budget quickly. But, there are other ways to have fun! Why don’t you try having a potluck dinner at someone’s house? Or you can go to a BYOB and save a ton of money on alcohol and be able to drink exactly what you want. You could also do a little research and find some local joints that are fun but don’t have a cover charge. There are tons of options that allow you to be with your friends without spending a fortune!

Save your change. My husband just came up with this magnificent idea to help us save more! We have a vase full of change that’s been sitting around forever and a vacation that we want to take for our one-year anniversary. However, we’re also trying to save for a house and don’t really want to dip into our savings for a big trip. Instead, we’re going to save all of the change we have over the next 6-8 months. However much we save will dictate the vacation we take. Start a change jar of your own with all those annoying coins you don’t use and just sit on your dresser. You’ll be surprised how much you can save!

Grab any empty jar you have and start saving!

Look at your cable package. Be realistic here. Do you actually watch TV or do you use it as background noise, occasionally watching one or two channels now and then? I don’t watch too much TV and because of that we don’t have cable in my house. Instead, we have Internet and Netflix. That may sound crazy, but it works perfectly fine. We’re able to watch tons of shows and movies and we keep up on newer shows by watching them online. Two of our favorites, Greys Anatomy and Scandal, are both posted on ABC’s website the day after they air. We are never home to watch shows when they’d normally be on anyway so watching the day after works perfect! We save over $30 a month this way and don’t miss out on anything!

These are simple steps you can take to help save more money without making any crazy changes to your life. They may seem hard at first, but eventually it’ll just become a normal part of life. Pick one or two and try them today!

These are awesome tips and I totally agree with not buying things you don’t need. Too many times you buy something, use it once, and then it just sits there.

Would you be able to expand on #2? Retirement is not my forte and I’ll be honest, trying to understand how we should invest our money boggles my mind sometimes! I’m sure I’m not the only one who would benefit from learning more. Perhaps maybe even a short guest post on the topic? 🙂